Campaign by many educated persons on social media for circulating small currency to help street vendors and petty businessmen not to suffer post-demonetisation is catching up.
Micro-blogging sites like Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter are being used to spread the word after noticing that some consumers are trying to make small purchases by insisting on change by producing newly launched Rs.2,000 notes.
Secretary of Steel Executives’ Association Anil Kumar said in a Whatsapp post: “Please buy items you need like fruits and vegetables from small vendors and not from malls or super markets. We can easily use cards, but for them, getting 100 rupees for a few days is tough and will help them reinvest again in their business. Buy some from them, may be for just 100 rupees per day or on alternate days and it will help them in a big way. Thank you and please forward to others as well.”
For want of change, many in Rythu Bazaars, fish markets at Fishing Harbour, MVP Colony, Railway New Colony, Gajuwaka and Ukkunagaram are facing untold hardship. As realty sector has been hit hard, daily wage workers are not able to earn anything.
Faced with dull sales during Karthika Masam, fish vendors are finding it difficult to meet their both ends met. “Many come to us and offer Rs.2,000 notes for a purchase of Rs.200. There are some who insist that we should accept old Rs.500 notes,” remarked Pydamma, who sells fish at Nehru Bazaar for past 30 years.
“The need is not to hide small currency notes and coins at home. We should circulate them into the market so as to help street vendors and small-time businessmen,” said AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry State president-elect G. Sambasiva Rao.
Mr. Rao said high value notes should be used only during transactions made at malls and big shops. As it is, he said one should prefer to shift to digital mode by making payment from digital wallets or credit/debit cards.
Fishermen activist and advocate Ganta Papa Rao said it was responsibility of every citizen not to trouble roadside vendors and before making any purchase, it was better to come prepared with Rs.50 and Rs.100 notes to offer them.
